Me and You and Everyone We Know

OK first off… I think we should do a film night because I pretty much miss everyone... anyone agree?

Movie review now…

A few weeks ago my friend and I decided to rent an independent film entitled Me and You and Everyone We Know. We had both read awesome things about this film on Imdb, so we decided we’d give it a shot. It also won TONS of awards at indie film festivals including Cannes, Sundance, L.A., San Francisco and Philadelphia. Miranda July is both the writer and director of this film, and she also took on one of the main roles.

What I understand the main point of the film to be is this: Everyone, whether young or old, is looking for some kind of intimacy or connection… whether it is out of loneliness, fear, or child-like curiosity. July is able to show the world through each of the characters eyes, and each character is incredibly human and understandable. There is a broad variety of different characters. There’s Christine, who seems lonely and expresses this loneliness through her very odd and very modern art. Richard, a recent divorcee with two young sons, was the most difficult character for me to understand. He longed to connect with his children in a way that seemed impossible, but being newly divorced he was not fully equipped for all the new responsibilities to come his way. His eldest son, 14 year old Peter, represents a teenage point of view. Through his interactions with a younger neighbor, we see that he longs for a more personal connection than other teenage characters. Two teenage girls contrast to Peter’s stance on relationships. Their lust for knowledge and experience in the sexual area comes off as plain desperate. Their stance on connecting to others contrasts with Peter’s. Peter’s younger brother, 7 year old Robby, has an adolescent online relationship with a much older woman. Note: she does not know he’s seven! His naivety and her desperateness form an odd bond between the two. Their unusual relationship provides some seriously funny and entertaining scenes as they misinterpret what the other person really seems to mean. Peter’s younger neighbor, Sylvie, was a very interesting character. Throughout the movie it is made obvious that Sylvie’s mother does not try to have a great relationship with her. Sylvie obsesses over collecting different household items and stashing them away in her “Hope Chest” for her future daughter. I think that she was trying to build a life for her future daughter that she felt she had missed out on. This isn't all the characters but it's getting too long. Just go watch it!

The main thing I enjoyed about this film is that it was pretty much completely painless. It seemed like July set up many instances where something terrible could have happened- but it didn’t. I found myself just waiting for something bad to happen because, typically, something goes wrong in most films and the rest of the film revolves around that problem. The problem never occurred and I finished the movie feeling completely refreshed and relieved that none of the characters were hurt, dead, or depressed. Anyways, I seriously think everyone should see this movie. It has some REALLY funny and quotable parts and I think everyone can appreciate it.

"You laugh now and then, but mostly you smile -- at the simple connections people make, at the guileless screenplay, at the general tone of wonderment and love for mankind." - Eric D. Snider

Liz

P.S. Over the Hedge was awesome too... it's adorable and hilarious!